Ski binding



1967 H. HINTERHOLZER ,35

SKI BINDING Filed April 7, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR: HA NS H/N TERHOLZER BY 5 w w AGENT Dec. 19, 1967 H. HINTERHOLZER 3,359,009

SKI BINDING Filed April 7, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5

FIG. '7

28 HIM L96 IN V EN TOR.

HANS H/NTERHOLZER Dec. 19, 1967 H. HINTERHOLZER 3,359,009

SKI BINDING 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 7, 1964 FIG/l FIG. /5

HANS H/N TE RHOLZ ER IN V EN TOR.

AGENT 1967 H. HINTERHOLZER 3,

SKI BINDING 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 7, 1964 IN VEN TOR: HANS H/NTERHOLZEP AGENT United States Patent 3,359,009 SKI BINDING Hans Hinterholzer, 35 Saalbach, Salzburg, Austria Filed Apr. 7, 1964, Ser. No. 357,830 6 (Ilaims. (Ci. 2801l.35)

This invention relates to a ski binding, particularly a safety ski binding, and has as its object to provide a binding which ensures a reliable holding of the skier on the ski during skiing, particularly during touring or competitions, and also during jumps, and a reliable, instantaneous release of the skier from the ski when he falls over the tips or in the case of twisting falls, which are particularly dangerous.

Owing to the design of the binding and particularly owing to the fact that a part of the skiing boot held firmly on the ski and can be released only with difliculty, the previous ski bindings do not meet these requirements or meet them only in an unsatisfactory manner.

In contrast to this, the essential feature of the invention resides in that the foot of the skier is secured to the ski by a clamp coupling which is disposed under the heel of the boot and is so dimensioned that a firm connection exists between the boot and the ski during skiing, including jumping, turning or the like, and that this connection is automatically released in response to a fall in any direction under the action of the forces which become effective in such case. In a particularly desirable embodiment of the invention, a rotary locking member is provided which is rotatably held with or without friction between yielding jaws having preferably an adjustable spring loading.

These jaws may be held together at one end by a hinge whereas one or more adjustable springs are provided at the other end. At the hinge end and, if desired, at the opposite end, the clamp coupling should have a sufiicient play or clearance to ensure that the jaws will be spread apart by the lateral force exerted by the rotary locking member to release the latter in the case of a fall in this direction.

Another, special embodiment of the inventio comprises two such springs, which are parallel and adjustable to enable a fine adjustment of the springs.

In other embodiments of the invention, the locking member of the clamp coupling is centrally disposed and takes the form of a ball, a multiple cone or the like so located that the clamps with the springs or the resilient jaws embrace this centrally disposed locking member so that the springs are held with greater force, on the one hand, and the torque effecting a release of the boot is increased and with it the reliability that the boot will be quickly and instantaneously released.

A ball-bearing arrangement may be provided between the locking member and the jaws to facilitate relative rotation and to improve the locking member in certain respects.

The subject matter of the invention has the following advantages:

The increasingly frequent injuries suffered by skiers are mainly caused by a collision of skiers with each other and by an impact of a skier on a fixed obstacle, such as a tree, rock or the like. The most severe fractures result when the ski bindings are not released instantaneously in such cases. The invention ensures an immediate release of the connection between the ski and the foot. This release is effected by the ski-binding jaws and results in an automatic separation of the two parts of the ski binding. In the case of the known, dangerous twisting fall, the release is also effected without the least delay because the jaws are opened at the time when the tension acting on the connection between the two parts of the binding is increased. This so-called automatic heel binding has a much faster response than all previous, known safety ski bindings, disposed, e.g., at the toe portion of the skiing boot. The binding according to the invention is preferably combined with a toe jaw which is rigidly secured to the ski to assist the release of the abovementioned automatic heel binding.

The following remarks will facilitate a comparison of the novel safety ski binding with the known ski bindings.

In the known ski bindings, the heel is subjected to a torsional compressive stress during skiing. The safety jaw bindings of known types are adjusted to prevent an unnecessary fall from the ski during skiing.

In the case of a rapid twisting fall, which is directed from the heel towards the toe portion of the boot, the foot may be broken during the considerable delay which occurs before the front safety jaw is released.

The binding according to the invention is and must be released at a point which is disposed next to the heel, under the latter, and this release is so rapid that the leg is not broken and the connection provided under the heel between the ski and the skiing boot is released so quickly that the subsequent lifting of the boot or its release at the toe portion does not constitute an obstruction or takes place at a later time. The same applies to a frontal fall.

Several embodiments of the invention are shown on the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view showing an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 11-11 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a modification of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows on a reduced scale another embodiment of the invention comprising teeth provided at the top of the rotary locking member for a satisfactory fixation of the heel of the boot to the rotary locking member;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view showing an embodiment of the invention and indicating the profile of a locking memher and of jaws having a semi-circular cross-section;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line VIVI of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 shows a modification of the profile of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a view showing partly in longitudinal section another embodiment, in which the members (jaws) which cooperate with the locking member under the heel have undercut edges;

FIG. 9 is a view showing partly in longitudinal section a spring-loaded jaw;

FIG. 10 shows a screw bolt for adjusting the springs for the jaws, a nut having an oval cross-section provided on one end portion of the bolt, and a nut which is enlarged in the longitudinal direction and provided with adjusting rings for adjusting the spring stresses;

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of the invention comprising interengaging coupling members, including a centrally disposed member secured to the ski;

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a sectional View showing another embodiment of such member;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken on line XIV-XIV of FIG. 15 and showing an embodiment of the invention comprising a ball cage;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken on line XV-XV of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 shows another modification of the invention in a sectional view taken on line XVI-XVI of FIG. 17; and

FIG. 17 is a horizontal longitudinal sectional view taken on line XVII-XVII of FIG. 16, viewed from above.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 a ski body 1 has secured to it by screws 4 a plate 2 having a head flange 3. The two flanges 5 and 6 of two clamping elements 7 and 8 enter from the outside below the flange 3 so that they are held in the vertical direction but can yield to some extent in a horizontal direction. A jaw portion 9 and 10 of each clamping element embraces a circular locking member 11 approximately around a semicircle. The stepped external profile of this locking member is complementary to the adjacent profile of the jaws 9 and -10..As is shown in FIG. 3, a member 11 with conical profile indicated at 11a and 11b may be substituted for the member 11 with stepped profile.

The jaw members 7 and 8 are resiliently held together by bolts 12, which are held by flanges 14 in recessed bores 13, and by interposed coil springs 15 surrounding the bolts 12. The spring action can be adjusted to a desired value by a greater or less tightening of the nut 16 so that the spring is subjected to a greater or less stress. A similar arrangement, not shown, is disposed on the opposite side of the rotary member 11. The jaws 9 and 10 normally embrace the rotary locking member with frictional engagement but may be moved radially outwardly, against the force of springs 15, to give the rotary locking member a certain freedom of angular movement.

The same applies to the relation of parts 5 and 6 to the flanged disc 2, 3. There is preferably, however, a small minimum clearance, as shown, between the flanges 5, 6 and the flanged disc 2, 3.

Holding lugs -17 for securing the straps are provided on the top of the rotary locking member 11. The center of the rotary locking member is arranged to lie under the center of the heel of the boot. The same lugs may be used for securing a resilient tightener 18, 19 for the heel, through the intermediary of anchor springs 97 tending to retain the tightener in a neutral position.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4, one of the resilient bolts for the clamp parts or jaws 9, 10, preferably the front bolt, is replaced by a hinge 20. In this case it is recommended'to provide for a small play or clearance a between the rotary locking member 11 and the clamp members 7 and 8 at the hinge end. Under these circumstances, larger lateral forces exerted by the rotary locking member, e.g., in response to a fall in the direction of the hinge, cause the rotary locking member 11 to spread the clamp members 7 and 8 apart. A clearance b is preferably provided also at the opposite end.

The device according to the invention ensures a very firm holding of the boot during skiing and jumping whereas in the case of a fall the rotary member -11 is subjected to forces causing the rotary member 11 to spread the jaws 9 and 10 apart so that the rotary member is immediately released irrespectively of the direction of the fall.

The means for holding the toe portion of the boot are not shown. These means enable the toe portion of the boot to be released more easily than the heel so that the release is ensured in the case of any fall.

Upwardly protruding teeth or points 110 are provided, as is shown in FIG. 4, to ensure that the heel can always be fixed in the same position and at the same distance from the holder. for the toe portion of the boot when the heel has been released from the rotary locking member 11 after an initial adjustment of the heel relative to the rotary locking member 11. This arrangement may be used in all embodiments to be described hereinafter.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the locking member consists of a single piece 20 and when viewed in cross-section has the form of a plate, which is secured by screws 4 to the ski body '1, and a semi-circular bead 22, which is also semi-circular in crosssection at 23. In this case, the jaws 9a and 10a are provided with grooves 24, having a semi-circular cross-section, and are enlarged to an approximately oval shape at 26 toward the ends of the jaws, the grooves 24 thus becoming progressively shallower toward the region where the springs with the bolts 12 are provided. This facilitates the release of the heel-fixing means in the case of danger. In this case, the jaws carry adjustable lugs 17a, which serve for the fixation of the straps and are secured by screws 27 in slots 28 of the jaws 9a and 10a. In response to a fall, the spring-loaded jaws 9a and 10a will be released together with the skiing boot from the locking member 23, 22.

According to FIG. 7, portions 30 and 31 of a locking member co-operating with jaws 91), 10b are formed in cross-section, according to the invention, as double wedges, including a portion 32 having the shape of a frustum of a cone, and a smaller portion 33 having also the shape of a frustum of a cone. This design facilitates the mounting and release, reduces the number of components and simplifies the structure.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 8 aflords a substantial simplification and a special improvement. The heel of the skiing boot is provided with a disc 35, which may have brackets 36 for the attachment of binding straps. This disc has a cylindrical annular peripheral face 37, which merges outwardly into a diverging conical peripheral face 39 terminating in a converging conical peripheral face 40. A central flanged disc 41 is secured to the body 42 of the ski, e.g., by a plurality of screws indicated diagrammatically at 43. The disc 41 has an upper flange 44 with a beveled edge 45. The jaws 4s, which are to be spread apart against the force of the springs, as has been explained hereinbefore, have a side face 47 which extends from the inside outwardly and is outwardly rounded at the top at 48 while terminating in a cylindrical peripheral face 50 at the bottom. The beveled face 45 serves to facilitate the introduction of flange 44- into the disc 35, which is secured to the skiing boot, even when snow has penetrated, because an annular groove remains between the confronting peripheries of these two elements. The same considerations apply to the lowermost inner side face of the jaws 46 and the confronting peripheries of disk 41.

The rounding at the top 48 of the jaw serves to facilitate the escapement of the disc 35 when the predetermined stress of the springs is exceeded during a forward or twisting fall of the skier. This excessive stress will arise during a fall in known manner as has been described hereinbefore.

The stress of the springs 15 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 must be adjustable. This adjustment will depend on the weight of the skier and on the conditions occurring during the different types of skiing. FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate how this setting may be effected. The stress of the springs is adjustable by nuts, one of which, 53, has an oval cross-sectional shape which fits an oval opening 54 in the end portions of jaws 46' otherwise similar to, say, the jaws 9 and 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The other nut 55 serves actually for setting the stress of the springs 15. This nut is enlarged in the longitudinal direction compared to the usual nuts and can be rotated, whereas the first-mentioned nut 53 is non-rotatably held in the opening 54. The nut 55 has at its periphery a number of closely spaced rings 56 or other marks, which can enter into or emerge from the associated opening in the jaw end portions during an adjustment of these nuts. The more rings have entered the opening, the higher will be the stress of the spring or springs. Hence, the skier can adjust by himself the stress of the springs, and the proper spring stress can be restored when the springs have become slack.

In the case of a fall in a forward direction or of a twisting fall, it is essential that the boot or locking members of the skier be not caught by any part of the binding, such as the enlarged end portions of the two jaws 46, when the locking member 35 has been released by the jaws. For this purpose, a separate deflector edge e.g., a beveled surface 57, is provided over which the locking member 35 can slide or by which the locking member 35 is deflected when it has jumped out from between the jaws 46'.

The embodiments shown in FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 are particularly compact and simplified in structure and assembling. The locking member, which consists otherwise of a plate or the like, is formed in these instances by a centrally arranged multiple cone or ball member, and the jaws may be provided on the skiing boot, or vice versa.

A plate 59 is secured to the ski body 58 in the manner mentioned hereinbefore. This plate carries a double cone 6t 61 in the embodiment of FIGS. 11 and 12 and a ball member 68 in the embodiment of FIG. 13. The two jaws 90, 100 or 9d, 19d, which may be similar to those of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, hold the two strap lugs 64 in slots 62. The heel of the boot is detachably secured between these strap lugs. The side faces 65 and 66 of jaws 9c, 100 have a double-conical shape which is complementary to the double cone 60, 61. The springs of these jaws 9c and 's are provided at the jaw ends, as has been described with reference to the preceding embodiments, and are of such a size that the torque executed on the holder is relatively great until it is overcome in the case of a fall. The parts forming the holder are made from high-grade steel. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13 having a central ball member 68 of corresponding size, the inner side faces of the jaws 9a and ltld have a hemispherical shape at 69 and 70. In order to facilitate the release of the heel of the boot and of the parts secured to it in the case of a fall, the inner side faces 65, 66 and 71 have a larger radius in a top plan view than the cone 60 or the ball member 68.

FIGS. 14 to 17 show details of two embodiments of a ball bearing between the clamp jaws and the member embraced by them. For the sake of clarity, the ball members are turned in FIGS. 14 and 16 into the plane of the drawing from the position in which they are shown in the top plan views of FIGS. and 17.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a cup shaped locking member 73 is secured by screws 74 to the body of the ski 1. The locking member is formed like a ball cage and has openings 75 in which a plurality of balls 76, in the example shown four such balls, are held in such a manner as to protrude towards the center of the locking member or cup 73 but cannot fall inwardly. For this purpose the openings have a slight conical taper towards the center of the locking member. The cup 73 and the balls 76 are embraced on the outside by two spring-loaded jaws 77 and 78. Adjacent to the balls 76, these jaws 77 and 78 have recesses 79 in the form of spherical caps. The balls 76 enter these recesses so that the jaws 77 and 73 are held on the level of the balls and can move apart and together in their plane, but cannot lift in a direction which is normal to the plane of the ski l. The ends of the jaws 77 and 78 are provided with arms 77a and 78a. Springs 79 provided between these arms urge the jaws 77 and 73 together. The springs 79 are secured at one end to one arm 77a and one arm 78a. At the other end, each spring is connected to the end of a bolt 80, which is adjustable in the other arm 78a or 77a, respectively. A pointer 82 is mounted on the bolt 80 in such a manner that the bolt is rotatable whereas the pointer 82 is only axially movable along a plate 81 provided with marks for indicating the stress of springs. A cylinder 84 with the two lateral strap lugs 85 extends into the cup 73. Adjacent to the balls 76, this ring or cylinder 84 has recesses in the form of spherical caps 86 so that it is held in the cup 73 by the embracing jaws 77 and 78 until the stress of the springs 79 has been overcome by a forward or twisting fall or the like. In this case the cylinder or ring 84 with the strap lugs 85 and the boot 87 attached to the ring 84 jumps out of its holder and is released from the ski '1. To secure the boot to the ski 1, the skier steps with the boot and the ring or cylinder 84- attached to it into the part 73 and applies pressure to the heel so that the force of the springs 79 is overcome and the connection is re-established.

FIGS. 16 and 17 illustrate a modification of the system of FIGS. 14 and 15. A ball cage 88, which is separate from the cup 73, is penetrated by the balls "89. The outside peripheral surface of a cup 73' is formed with a groove 90 of arcuate cross-section and has recesses 91 close to the balls in order to facilitate the assembly. The cup 73 is again secured to the body 1 of the ski by screws 74. A cylinder 84 provided with the strap lugs 85, to Which the boot 87 is strapped, extends into the cup 73. The two clamping jaws 93 and 94 are secured to the strap lugs by bolts 92 and are urged towards each other by springs and spring bolts diagrammatically indicated at 96, of the type shown in FIGS. 1 to 13, in such a manner that the jaws 93 and 94 are resiliently spread when the force of the springs is overcome. The strap lugs 85 are enlarged in width. This enlargement in the horizontal direction is not shown. The lugs have at 9-5 a cross-sectional shape which conforms to that of the spher ical caps of balls 84 in order to facilitate the assembly. The ball cage 88 maybe designed in such a manner that it is also released with the jaws 93 and 94 from the locking member on the ski, or it may remain next to the cup 73. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the clamping jaws are ovally enlarged in width towards the springs in order to facilitate the release of the skiing boot in the case of danger.

I claim:

1. A ski binding comprising a heel-supporting member having a fastening means for attaching same to the boot of a skier, a base member adapted to be fixedly secured to a ski, a pair of clamping jaws connected with one of said members, guide means interconnecting said jaws for relative motion in a horizontal plane, a resilient means adjacent said guide means urging said jaws toward each other, and a co-operating element on the other of the members releasably embraced by said jaws at a location offset from said guide means, said jaws and said element being provided with co-acting camming formations enabling upward separation of said jaws from said element upon a spreading of said jaws against the force of said resilient means, said guide means comprising a pair of parallel pins engaging said jaws at opposite sides of said element for enabling relative translatory motion of said jaws, said resilient means including compression springs surrounding said pins.

2. A ski binding comprising a heel-supporting member having fastening means for attaching same to the boot of a skier, a base member adapted to be fixedly secured to a ski, a pair of clamping jaws connected with one of said members, guide means interconnecting said jaws for relative motion in a horizontal plane, resilient means adjacent said guide means urging said jaws toward each other, and a co-operating element on the other of the members releasably embraced by said jaws at a location offset from said guide means, said jaws and said element being provided with coacting camming formations enabling upward separation of said jaws from said element upon a spreading of said jaws against the force of said resilient means, said base member comprising a disk having a peripheral flange overlying parts of said jaws, said element being rigid with said heel-supporting member.

3. A ski binding as defined in claim 2 wherein said heel-supporting member comprises a pair of lugs forming anchorages for a heel clamp, said fastening means including a strap secured to said lugs.

4. A ski binding comprising a heel-supporting member having fastening means for attaching same to the boot of a skier, a base member adapted to be fixedly secured to a ski, a pair of clamping jaws connected with one of said members, guide means interconnecting said jaws for relative motion in a horizontal plane, resilient means adjacent said guide means urging said jaws toward each other, and a co-operating element on the other of the members releasably embraced by said jaws at a location ofiset from said guide means, said jaws and said element 7 being provided with co-acting camming formations enabling upward separation of said jaws from said element upon a spreading of said jaws against the force of said resilient means, said heel-supporting member consists of two relatively movable halves rigid with said jaws, respectively.

5. A ski binding as defined in claim 4 wherein said halves are provided with upstanding lugs, said fastening means including a strap secured to said lugs.

6. A ski binding comprising a heel-supporting member having fastening means for attaching same to the boot of a skier, a base member adapted to be fixedly secured to a ski, a pair of clamping jaws connected with one of said members, guide means interconnecting said jaws for relative motion in a horizontal plane, resilient means adjacent said guide means urging said jaws toward each other, and a co-operating element on the other of the members releasably embraced by said jaws at a location offset from said guide means, said jaws and said element being provided with co-acting camming formations enabling upward separation of said jaws from said element upon a spreading of said jaws against the force of said resilient means, at least one of said jaws is provided with a noncircular bore, said guide means including a bolt with a noncircular terminal fitting nonrotatably in said bore and means including said bolt for adjusting the stress of said resilient means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,260,057 10/1941 Rydberg 280-1135 2,836,428 5/1958 Marker 280-11.35 3,210,090 10/1965 Keeling et a1 280-4135 FOREIGN PATENTS 230,240 11/ 1963 Austria.

563,877 9/1958 Canada. 1,266,067 5/ 1961 France.

207,506 3/ 1909 Germany.

20 BENJAMIN 'HERSH, Primary Examiner.

A. HARRY LEVY, Examiner.

M. L. SMITH, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A SKI BINDING COMPRISING A HEEL-SUPPORTING MEMBER HAVING A FASTENING MEANS FOR ATTACHING SAME TO THE BOOT OF A SKIER, A BASE MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE FIXEDLY SECURED TO A SKI, A PAIR OF CLAMPING JAWS CONNECTED WITH ONE OF SAID MEMBERS, GUIDE MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID JAWS FOR RELATIVE MOTION IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE, A RESILIENT MEANS ADJACENT SAID GUIDE MEANS URGING SAID JAWS TOWARD EACH OTHER, AND A CO-OPERTING ELEMENT ON THE OTHER OF THE MEMBERS RELEASABLY EMBRACED BY SAID JAWS AT A LOCATION OFFSET FROM SAID GUIDE MEANS, SAID JAWS AND SAID ELEMENT BEING PROVIDED WITH CO-ACTING CAMMING FORMATIONS ENABLING UPWARD SEPARATION OF SAID JAWS FROM SAID ELEMENT UPON A SPREADING OF SAID JAWS AGAINST THE FORCE OF SAID RESILIENT MEANS, SAID GUIDE MEANS COMPRISING A PAIR OF PARALLEL PINS ENGAGING SAID JAWS AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID ELEMENT FOR ENABLING RELATIVE TRANSLATORY MOTION OF SAID JAWS, SAID RESILIENT MEANS INCLUDING COMPRESSION SPRINGS SURROUNDING SAID PINS. 